[news=http://filesharingtalk.com/vb3/logos/bt.gif]In what was initially believed to be a hack and or a hoax, it appears the actions taken against EliteTorrents was indeed an enforcement action by the FBI and US Department of Justice. Indeed, all indications dictated the situation was not an enforcement action, considering the official word from EliteTorrent's administration stated they were simply hacked.

However, this would turn out to be part of the overall action by the MPAA, FBI and US Customs. When visiting the site, one is confronted with the following notification:

"This Site [EliteTorrents.org] has been permanently shut down by the Federal bureau of Investigation and U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement"

"The individuals involved in the operation and use of Elite Torrents network are under investigation for criminal copyright infringement"

These are very serious words. According to the FBI press release, 10 search warrents have been issued against leading members of EliteTorrents.org.

"This morning, agents of the FBI and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) executed 10 search warrants across the United States against leading members of a technologically sophisticated P2P network known as Elite Torrents. Employing technology known as BitTorrent, the Elite Torrents network attracted more than 133,000 members and, in the last four months, allegedly facilitated the illegal distribution of more than 17,800 titles-including movies and software-which were downloaded 2.1 million times. "

The press release also explains why the administration of EliteTorrents initially believed this was the result of a DNS hack.

"In addition to executing 10 warrants, federal agents also took control of the main server that coordinated all file-sharing activity on the Elite Torrents network."

The MPAA was adamant about ridding the Internet of EliteTorrents.org, due to the fact it helped proliferate "Star Wars, Episode III: Revenge of the Sith." Star Wars' prerelease had the MPAA extremely frustrated, and vowed to pursue those distributing the movie. The MPAA made good on their promise, as elaborated in their press release.

"Carrying out what is known as Operation D-Elite, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) executed search warrants against prominent members in Elite Torrents’ membership," said Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. (MPAA) President and CEO Dan Glickman. "Elite Torrents was one of the first peer to peer networks to post an illegal copy of Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith before the movie officially opened in theaters last Thursday."

The FBI press release elaborate, "For example, the final entry in the Star Wars series, "Episode III: Revenge of the Sith," was available for downloading on the network more than six hours before it was first shown in theatres. In the next 24 hours, it was downloaded more than 10,000 times."

This situation remains fluid, as the extent of the FBI and U.S. Custom enforcment is unclear. For now, only the administration is looking at criminal charges, however the initial take down notice did state "...and use of..."

what about torrentbytes???? did that site get shut down?? i shud have downloaded godfather 2 from et wen i had the chance.... oh well atleast i finished downloading the rambo 2 dvd... fuk lucas and 20th century fox... good thing i never payed a dime to see their movies..lol.

Los Angeles - - The U.S. Departments of Justice and Homeland Security today announced that they have shut down one of the world’s largest BitTorrent websites, Elite Torrents. Carrying out what is known as Operation D-Elite, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) executed search warrants against prominent members in Elite Torrents’ membership. Elite Torrents was one of the first peer to peer networks to post an illegal copy of Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith before the movie officially opened in theaters last Thursday.

“Today’s actions are bad news for Internet movie thieves and good news for preserving the magic of the movies,” said Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. (MPAA) President and CEO Dan Glickman. “Shutting down illegal file swapping networks like Elite Torrents is an essential part of our fight to stop movie thieves from stealing copyrighted materials. We hope and fully expect that people will spend this Memorial Day weekend sharing the motion picture experience with their families and not stealing movies from the Internet.”

Elite Torrents received 8.5 million hits a day and was frequented by over 100,000 users daily. The site posted several thousand movie titles including House of Wax, Kingdom of Heaven, Unleashed, Monster-in-Law, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and Kicking and Screaming. It also carried many television shows including the full seasons of “Desperate Housewives” and “Lost”. Operation D-Elite is being conducted jointly by ICE and the FBI as part of the Computer and Technology Crime High Tech Response Team ("CATCH") which is a San Diego task force of specially trained prosecutors and law enforcement officers who focus on high-tech crime. Federal and state member agencies of CATCH include ICE, the FBI, the Department of Justice, the San Diego District Attorney's Office, San Diego Police Department, the San Diego Sheriff's Department, and San Diego County Probation. The Operation was coordinated and will be prosecuted by the Justice Department's Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, with the assistance and support of Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property (CHIP) coordinators in San Diego and U.S. Attorneys' Offices in Arizona, Illinois, Kansas, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin.

Former Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Department of Justice and current Senior Vice President for Worldwide Anti-Piracy at MPAA John Malcolm said "I applaud the work of ICE, the FBI, CATCH and the San Diego Computer and Technology Crime High Tech Response Team for close coordination on Operation D-Elite. Their hard work in pursuit of these movie thieves will help preserve jobs in the entertainment industry and protect the quality of movies for everyone. Protecting the movies means protecting American ideas."

The MPAA has been successful in bringing down more than 90% of the BitTorrent type sites it has filed lawsuits against. Earlier this year, LokiTorrent was put out of the business of facilitating illegal movie swapping. In early May, the MPAA brought lawsuits against six new sites focused largely on facilitating the illegal swapping of television shows. Four of those six sites have already shut down, including the very popular http://www.shuntv.net/ and http://www.btefnet.net/. The MPAA will continue its efforts to work with governments and law enforcement officials to shut down BitTorrent sites across the world from Sacramento to Stockholm.

Glickman said that the MPAA estimates that the film industry lost approximately $3.5 billion to movie piracy in 2004, a total that does not include losses due to illegal file sharing online. According to a Smith Barney study, that number is expected to jump to $5.4 billion in 2005. By deeply cutting into revenues, movie piracy limits the choices for consumers at the box office. Sixty percent of all movies never recoup their production and marketing costs which average well over $100 million. Piracy also hurts the hundreds of thousands of individuals, whose jobs depend on a vital movie industry, including sound and lighting technicians, carpenters, and theatre and video store employees.

About the MPAA:
The Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. (MPAA) serves as the voice and advocate of the American motion picture, home video and television industries from its offices in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. These members include: Buena Vista Pictures Distribution; Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc.; Paramount Pictures; Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc.; Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation; Universal Studios from Universal City Studios; and Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.